American Genius Girl, and Other Nicknames
by lulamae-golightly
Summary: While taking a summer college class in Japan, Kurisu finds a library book with a phone number written in by a self-proclaimed "mad scientist". Curiosity gets the best of her, and she finds something interesting about Okabe (or "Kyouma" as he insists), and his friends. She definitely doesn't like him. Not like that! ...Right?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** **so this is based on an AU prompt i saw on tumblr: "found your number in a library book AU". i thought it would be cute with this pairing! this is going to be very light and sweet, so if you're looking for angst...it's not here. i just want my kids to be happy ;-;. anyway, thank you for reading! i hope you enjoy! this is not beta'd but i did proofread to check for continuity and grammar errors. also, i refer to Ruka with her pronouns because in this fic (and in my opinion, in canon) she is transgender. if you don't like that, leave now. i don't want mindless arguing in the reviews, thanks.**

Libraries were always a place of quiet solace after stressful days. Even if she didn't check out a book, Kurisu liked to stroll the aisles and look at all the spines, neatly placed in rows, the titles in Japanese. It had taken a few weeks to switch to reading Japanese since she arrived for the summer. Thankfully she had settled into it, but she still thought in English-hell, English words slipped into her speech at times. She hoped that would diminish soon. It made her sound strange when she was speaking in a professional setting, like in the labs.

One book caught her eye, sticking slightly out among the others. "The Theory and Science of Time Travel", boasted the spine. She picked it up and flipped through it. She never found the theory of time travel to have a very strong foundation, but she tried to have an open mind nonetheless. She stuck the book under her arm and sat down at a desk, diving into the book. By the first few chapters, she could tell she liked the book, but the sun was setting and she needed to get dinner and some sleep. She used her student card to check out the book, threw it in her purse, and went in search of a sushi shop.

Kurisu ate while she read, reaching about halfway through the book before flipping to the back to see who else had checked out the book in the past. On the last page, someone had written something.

 _Mad scientist HOUOUIN KYOUMA was here!_

Beneath the message was a phone number. She raised an eyebrow. Not many others had checked out the book. At least, no one who had made their mark so much as "Kyouma" had. A curiosity nagged at her. He was practically asking people to call him, for whatever reason. Then again, he was a self-proclaimed (she assumed) "mad scientist", so she could've been getting into something that she couldn't get out of.

She sighed and decided against it...for tonight. She set her alarm for her early lecture and put the book on the nightstand. She tried to push the unbearable curiosity about Hououin Kyouma out of her mind.

She got back to her hotel in the afternoon after classes. Lecture days always felt longer, even if it was a short lecture. She wanted to get into the science, see it, talk about it herself, feel it if she could. She wanted to be staring it in the eye, not listening to someone else talk about it. Still, she was feeling restless and a bit stir crazy at this point. She didn't want to go back to the library or the labs...maybe she'd just walk along the streets of the city for awhile.

* * *

"Are you going to the festival tonight, Okarin?"

"What? Oh, I guess I forgot about it. Probably not. Maybe I'll go to bed early."

Mayuri laughed, melodic and sweet. "Yeah, right, Okarin. C'mon, you can't stay inside all day! We haven't gone to the festival together since we were little! Do you have homework?"

"Homework? No, I didn't have class today."

"Did you not go?" Damn, Mayuri knew him too well. Still, she wasn't exactly right.

"No, I really didn't have class."

"Alright! Mayushi just wants you to get good grades," he wasn't looking at her, but he could hear her smile. "When's your next class?"

"Two days from now. Another lab."

"Oh, good! You like those labs, right?"

He nodded. "Mm, they're not too bad. I get stuck with insufferable partners at times. But there are some interesting people...there's this one girl, I don't know her name-"

Mayuri jumped at the opportunity. "Ooh! Okarin is in looove!"

"I said nothing of the sort! You didn't even let me finish. All I was going to say is that she seems very interesting. She always has something to add to the discussions...however, she's got a temper more fiery than her hair."

"Ohh, a smart girl!"

"Smart indeed, if quick to jump at you."

"Have you talked to her?"

"Yes, but we never exchanged names. It was actually an argument…"

She _tsked, tsked_ him. "Okarin. You ought to be nicer!"

Okabe turned his computer chair around and looked at Mayuri. "I should," he said honestly.

"Try to make up with her."

"I will. I don't know if she holds grudges."

"Just try it! Oh, can we _please_ go to the festival tonight? Ruka will be there…she got a new kimono and everything, and she looks beautiful!"

Okabe agreed that Ruka was beautiful; something about him-oh-her was like a delicate flower, despite his- _damn_ -HER...er, biological system? He was trying to get better with that. He had made some pretty asshole-ish comments in the past that had really upset her and Mayuri, and after some searching around the internet and taking time to understand Ruka and that part of her, he felt bad for what he had said. She was perhaps too forgiving of him. He pulled himself away from thoughts of her and looked at Mayuri again. "Sure, I'll go to the festival. It's been awhile since I've seen the fireworks up close."

She nearly squealed. "Yay! Can I run home and put on my kimono?"

"Sure. Try and get back before it gets dark."

She bounded out of her seat, barely saying "bye!" before bursting out the door. He chuckled and leaned back in his chair, wondering if he should put on something a little more nice for the festival as well.

His phone rang, and he arched an eyebrow, wondering who it could possibly be. Maybe Daru? When he checked, it was an unknown number. Cautiously, he answered. "Yes…?"

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds, and his finger hovered above the end call button. "Er, this is kinda weird, but I...found your phone number in a book." This girl-he assumed it was a girl-had a very familiar voice, but he couldn't quite place it…

"A book? You mean, the phone book?"

"No, no...you wrote it in a book."

"I...what? Are you okay?"

"Don't patronize me!" she said suddenly, and he nearly gasped. That girl in his lab! It sounded just like her! "Anyway, maybe I did get the wrong number. All I know is some weirdo wrote his name and number in a book I checked out in the library."

"You shouldn't go around just calling weird numbers."

She groaned. "I have no idea what your deal is, but I'm hanging up."

"Suit yourself," he hung up. What a strange phone call.

Then it dawned on him. Ah, damn, he did write his number in a book about time travel, at the beginning of the first year of college. Definitely not the smartest move. Then again, it was a book about time travel, not exactly the biggest interest among college students, even science students like himself. She must have checked the book out and seen his scribbles.

Before he could dwell on it for too much longer, Mayuri returned excitedly. "Okarin, it's almost dusk!" she was wearing a violet kimono patterned with cherry blossoms. She had even tied her short hair up. He smiled softly.

"You look nice, Mayuri. Is that a new kimono?"

"Yes!" she grinned, swinging the sleeves a little. "Isn't it pretty? I like having special things like this, it makes it more fun when you get to wear them...you should dress nice, too, Okarin."

"I don't have much in the way of formal clothing. I'll put on a nice jacket or something."

"That would be nice! Now hurry up, I want to get there right at dusk."

Okabe went to his bedroom to grab his seldom-used peacoat from the closet. It was probably too warm for a peacoat, being that it was June, but summer nights always had a chill in the air. He stepped out of his room, Mayuri waiting just a bit impatiently by the door. "Oh, you look nice, too!"

Compliments like that didn't usually affect him (to be fair, he didn't get them often) but Mayuri was so sweet and genuine all the time he couldn't help but smile in thanks. "Ah, look who's talking, my lady," she giggled, and they ventured out into the city.

"I didn't know you could be a mad scientist _and_ a gentleman!"

"People like me are quite versatile."

Kurisu found herself in the middle of the festival, more by accident than anything else. She felt a bit underdressed with all the beautiful kimonos around her, but she tried not to think about it. Everyone seemed wrapped up in the excitement, crowding booths that sold food and goodies, excitedly greeting their friends when they saw them from yards away. She wandered aimlessly, hoping to maybe see some acquaintances from the college.

Many people had situated themselves at the top of the hill to watch the fireworks. She found a spot in the grass next to a small group of people. One of them was a shy looking girl, who smiled in her direction. "Hi," Kurisu offered, scooting a little closer.

"Hi," she said quietly. "Here to see the fireworks?"

She nodded. "I've never seen them before. Not in Japan at least."

"They're really cool!" her smile grew. "Did you move here?"

She nodded. "Well, I'm really just here to take a summer class at the university. But yeah, I moved from America."

The girl's eyes seemed to sparkle. "Wow, that's a long way."

Kurisu chuckled into her palm. She found this girl charming and cute; hopefully this would lead to a friendship. She was embarrassed about

her lack of friends she had made in Japan, especially since she still had the rest of the summer to stay. "It is. But I was born here, so I guess it's like a second home, in a way. Well, a second home I didn't visit often…."

"Do you like it here?"

"I do," she said honestly. "It's taken some adjusting. I'm pretty occupied with school most of the time."

Their conversation was interrupted when another girl came up to them. "Ruka! I got us some snacks! Oh, who's this?"

"Makise Kurisu," she filled in the blank, reaching out a hand at first, then pulling it away, forgetting that was uncommon in Japan. "Sorry. I forgot you don't shake hands here."

"She's from America," Ruka (she assumed that was her name) said.

"Ooh, cool! I'm Mayushi, nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you, too," she said. "Have you been to this festival before?"

"I try to go every year! If I can't, I just watch the fireworks from Okarin's window," Mayushi giggled.

"Okarin?" Kurisu tilted her head.

"He's my friend! He's getting us food right now, I think," she looked behind her. "Oh, there he is! Okarin!" she waved.

She furrowed her brow as he came closer. He looked familiar, like a guy from her school...still, a lot of college guys had that lanky, stubbly sort of look. Still, she _swore_ she had seen him before. Then again, it had been a pretty strange day what with the phone call and all, she was probably just overthinking. _Right?_

"I found chicken tenders," he said. Mayushi nearly squealed and Ruka just chuckled. "Oh, who's...this?" he looked her in the eye, and she studied his face unabashedly. He sounded familiar, certainly. "Looking for something?"

"Do I know you?"

"I doubt it," he replied. "Then again….where do you go to school?"

"Just outside of here, in Tokyo."

"Ah _ha!_ " he said loudly, startling her. "I knew I saw you around."

"So you must be...Okarin?" she said, going off of what Mayushi had said.

His nose crinkled. "Hououin Kyouma."

"Hey! It's you!" she exclaimed, and this time he was the one confused and startled. "You wrote your name in that book! Mad scientist!"

"That was you on the phone then?"

"Yeah, I tried to explain myself but you wouldn't let me get two words in."

"I'm lost," Mayushi frowned. Ruka nodded in agreement.

"While you were out, she found my number I had written in a book and called me."

Mayushi gave him an odd look. "You're silly sometimes, Okarin."

"It was awhile ago, I don't know how she found it."

She crossed her arms. "I have a name, you know. Kurisu."

"Ah, yes, American genius girl!" he said.

"Wait, how do you know that?"

"There's talk about you around the college. Lots of big words, 'prodigy' is one."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "Oh. You heard it from them, not me. I don't go around saying stuff like that about myself."

"It's a novelty to have someone from America at our school, let alone someone with such a big name."

She shrugged awkwardly. "I mean, I was born here, I've just spent more time in the states lately."

"So you speak English, too?" Ruka asked with wide eyes. "Wow!"

She laughed. "Yeah, it's pretty easy to switch from one to the other if I need to nowadays."

"So you and Okarin have classes together then!" Mayushi said.

"I think we have a lab together. I only take two classes during the summer, and one's a lab," she said.

"And I only have to take the lab. So we must have that together," Okabe concluded.

She crossed her arms. "Yes, now that I think of it, I've heard your loud voice in those labs. You tried to tell how to write my lab report when you were completely wrong and didn't even know what I was writing about," she narrowed her eyes.

He grumbled. "Yes, yes, we got off on the wrong foot, I suppose."

"You think? But I guess I won't hold it against you…" she frowned, but there was a teasing glint in her eyes. "How did you girls get stuck with this guy?" she asked Mayushi and Ruka.

Mayushi giggled. "I'm his hostage, actually!"

Kurisu's stomach went cold. " _Excuse_ me?"

"Mayuri," Ruka said warningly. "She doesn't mean it like you think!"

Kurisu sighed skeptically. "What does that mean?"

"W-we've been friends since we were very young," Okabe said quickly. "It's a...long story! Don't think I'm some sort of creep."

"I think a lot of things about you...but not that you're a creep. Yet," she narrowed her eyes as if in warning. "And Ruka, how do you know Okabe?"

"Kyouma," he said, but she ignored him.

"I met him through Mayuri," she said in her soft voice. "She took me to his lab once and I guess we became friends," she looked at him hopefully, hoping she was right, and he nodded in confirmation.

"Lab?"

"That's what we call the apartment! The Future Gadget Lab!" Mayuri exclaimed, with arm flourishes to go along. "So far we haven't really invented anything…"

"Excuse me, we have a _variety_ of gadgets," Okabe intervened.

"Oh, yeah! Like the vacuum, er, I mean, Future Gadget 002," she said.

Kurisu laughed into her palm. "God...you all are the most intriguing people I've met in Japan so far."

"Oh, yay, it's always good to make new friends!" Mayuri said, and Ruka nodded in agreement before looking up to the darkening sky.

"Hey, the fireworks are about to start," she said.

A hush fell over the crowd, everyone looking up eagerly. Mayuri huddled close to Okabe, watching with wide eyes. The fireworks lasted almost five minutes, a multitude of bright colors exploding across the sky. They reminded Kurisu of going to Fourth of July celebrations in America when she was young.

Once the festivities were over, the trio and Kurisu began walking back to the apart (or the Future Gadget Lab, whatever). "Summer labs are only for a little while longer," Okabe commented. "Will I see you again after, or are you going back to America?"

"I'm staying for the whole summer," she said.

"Well, we have each other's phone numbers, now, don't we?"

She nodded. "You're lucky no one else checked that book out, you could've ended up with a lot of weird people calling you."

He rolled his eyes. "You could've just not called the number." She opened her mouth to retort, but she found that she couldn't. He had gotten her. He laughed loudly, almost maniacally. It echoed through the street. "I've outsmarted American genius girl, hmm?"

"Oh, shut up, you're toeing the line here, Okabe."

"You just met," Mayuri said softly. "Don't fight."

She sighed. It was hard to deny sweet Mayuri. "Sorry, sweetie."

"Be nice, Okarin," she gently scolded him, then turned to Kurisu. "Come back to the lab sometime!"

"I will. Thanks for spending the night with me," she said. "See you in the labs?" she looked to Okabe.

"Indeed. It was nice meeting you...Christina."

Her brow furrowed. "There's no -Tina?"

"I found it fitting," and with that, the three of them climbed the steps to their apartment. Ruka, shy as she was, turned and gave Kurisu a wave and a smile before running after them.

 **12:01 AM**

 _It was nice properly meeting you, genius girl._

 **12:03 AM**

 _Oh my god, why aren't you asleep?_

 **12:05**

 _What are you, my mother?_

 **12:06**

 _Go to sleep_

 **12:09**

 _Oh yeah, it was nice to meet you, too. ^~^_

 **A/N: thank you for reading! comments appreciated! xoxo**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Both were guest reviewers so I couldn't properly reply but I really, really appreciated it! There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter, but hopefully it's alright.**

 **Oh, this is weird, but I have this tendency to forget that Okabe doesn't _live_ at the future gadget lab? So in this AU, it's his actual apartment. You think a college student can afford to rent out TWO places? (I mean in the anime he falls asleep on the couch all the time there it's not like it's totally implausible)**

 **Not beta'd, but proofread. Thank you for reading!**

"What are you thinking about?" Daru asked, catching Okabe's attention. Come to think of it, he thought, I probably was staring into space.

"Lots of things, as usual, why?"

"You just seemed so serious all of a sudden," he didn't look away from the glow of the computer screen, clicking around. At a quick glance, Okabe could tell he was playing some sort of RPG, which was fine. At least it wasn't one of those trashy games; he really didn't want Daru playing those in his apartment. Mayuri didn't need to see that. Hell, Okabe himself didn't need to see that. "How was the summer festival? Sorry I couldn't come. LAN party."

"It was fine. Mayuri and Ruka enjoyed it. I ran into someone who has a lab with me, too."

"Oh yeah? I didn't know you actually made friends in college," he snorted, and Okabe rolled his eyes.

"We weren't friends at first, but she seems quite intriguing, honestly," his phone buzzed. Speak of the devil, he thought.

"Wait a minute. She?"

He groaned. "Slow down there, cassanova. At the first mention of a girl, you start drooling. None at your LAN parties?"

Daru grumbled something that was probably an insult, but Okabe didn't pay attention and opened the text message, which was indeed from who he had saved in his phone as "Christina".

 _Hey, what's going on?_ She wrote.

 _Not much, tbh,_ he replied, _I thought about going shopping but it's far too hot for me. What's on your mind, Christina?_

 _Still no Tina. And I know how you feel. This hotel feels so empty._

 _A hotel?_ He asked, _How pricey._

 _My dad lives here; he got it for me_ , she wrote back.

 _Why can't you just stay with him?_

 _It's...really complicated. :/_

He decided not to press the issue. _Ah, well, at least you live comfortable, Miss Moneybags._

 _You're such a pain in the ass…_ , she replied, and he could virtually see her eyes rolling.

 _Hey, you texted first._

 _Whatever. Does that offer to visit the…"lab" still stand?_

 _Always._

 _Might make my way over there soon._

He felt his chest tighten in excitement for...whatever reason. He dismissed it. No time for those feelings. Nope. No way. _Alright. It's just me and my friend Daru over now, but Mayuri is going to come by, too._

 _Sounds good, I'll see you soon, then!_

 _I eagerly await your arrival, Christina._

All she replied with was, _Ugh._

"Who are you texting? You're waiting for replies like your life depends on it," Daru said.

"I am? What?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, you type and then stare at the screen."

"You're thinking too much," he scoffed.

"You didn't answer my first question; who are you texting?"

"Oh, um," he looked away, "A girl from one of my classes at the university."

Daru laughed a bit. "Really? You talk to girls?"

"More than you do," he shot back, "And I can talk like a normal person, too."

"Whatever you say, Hououin Kyouma," he snorted.

Okabe sighed and went to search the fridge, to no avail. "Mayushi said she would get us some groceries," Daru said, not looking away from the computer screen.

"Ah, yes, I remember her telling me I'm too skinny and need to eat more and drink more water."

Daru leaned back in his chair. "Where would you be without her?"

He smiled fondly at the ground. "That's a good question." There was a knocking at the door.

"Is that her?"

"No, she wouldn't knock," he ran his fingers through his hair and opened the door. "Good afternoon, Christina."

She wrinkled her nose. "You're glad I don't feel like walking all the way back to the hotel. It's Kurisu, if you've forgotten." she looked around the room with interest. "I didn't get to see the inside of this place the other night. It looks like...a fraternity boy's room."

"What's a fraternity?" Daru turned around to face her, eyes widened as he looked her up and down. She squinted at him in warning.

"Oh, you guys don't have those, I forgot. It's something kind of like a club in American university, but more...important, I guess," she explained, "I'm sure you can read about them on the internet," she said casually. A realization hit her and she covered her face with her hand. "God, I'm sorry, I should introduce myself. I'm Makise Kurisu,"she said in Daru's direction.

"Make yourself at home," Okabe offered, and she took a seat on the couch after taking off her shoes.

"So, you're the girl he's been so eagerly texting," Daru concluded with a smug smile.

Okabe groaned, suddenly embarrassed. "Shut up, hack."

Kurisu, on the other hand, didn't look that embarrassed or even offended. "I don't take that long to reply, do I?" she joked.

"No, Daru is just being a smartass," Okabe said. The door handle clicked, and Mayuri came waltzing in with grocery bags.

"Hi!" she greeted everyone, placing the bags on the kitchen counter. "I got some groceries!"

Okabe was about to thank her, but she was running to the couch to hug their guest. "Kurisu!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know you were coming!"

She seemed a little taken aback, but she she smiled nonetheless. "It's good to see you too. Yeah, it was kind of an impromptu visit. They make you grocery shop for them?"

"No!" she laughed. "They just forget sometimes, and Mayushi likes to help out."

"They're very lucky to have you around then," Kurisu said, and Okabe smiled faintly. Kurisu was so sweet and gentle to Mayuri, despite not knowing her for every long. But, it was hard to not immediately like Mayuri. "Although this place could use a declutter. How's Ruka?" she turned back to Mayuri.

"She's good! Just busy at work."

"Work?"

"She's a shrine maiden," Mayuri said, proud of her friend. "You should come with me to visit the shrine sometime!"

"That would be nice," she said. "You spend a lot of time around here?"

"Of course! This is where my friends are," she grinned.

"Shall we make lunch with the groceries Mayuri has granted us?" Okabe asked in typical dramatic fashion.

"Or," Daru began, "We can go to Queen May's."

"Queen May's?" Kurisu asked.

"She's never been! We should go!" Mayuri said. "Faris is working."

Daru nearly leaped out of his chair. "Don't need to tell me twice."

"It's a maid cafe," Okabe explained. "Daru is quite fond of it."

Kurisu was cautious at the idea of a maid cafe. "Well...I haven't eaten at all today. I might as well go."

"You'll like it, I promise!" Mayuri assured her. Kurisu set her caution aside-how bad could it really be?

* * *

"It's quiet today," Daru said.

"There's no Rai-Net tournament going on for people to flock to," Okabe said as a waitress brought their drinks. "Oh, hello Faris."

"Hi, Kyouma," she said sweetly. "Who's this?" she looked over at Kurisu. "A new girlfriend?"

Kurisu stammered a bit, feeling her ears become warm before managing a, "No!" in English.

"Ah, I thought otherwise," she snickered. "What can I get you to eat, meowsters?"

Everyone ordered their lunch, Kurisu deciding on some chestnut rice. Faris wrote down their orders and flounced off. "Kurigohan in the summer?" Okabe turned to her. "I'm surprised they even have chestnuts this time of year."

She shrugged. "It's one of my favorite foods and I never get to have it in America."

"I think it's funny Faris thought you were Okarin's girlfriend," Mayuri said with a mischievous smile.

Kurisu covered her blushing face. "Whatever."

"I didn't know you were so offended by the idea of being my significant other, Christina."

"Call me by my real name and maybe I'll think about it," she shot back, taking a sip of her iced coffee.

Daru laughed. "Another loss for Okabe."

"Be nice!" Mayuri scolded him. Okabe flashed a thankful smile in her direction.

It wasn't long before Faris brought their food. Kurisu smiled as she took her first bite. "Mm, I haven't this in ages," she said. "The food here is good, I'll give them that."

"I knew you would like it!" Mayuri said. "I work here part time."

Kurisu looked at her curiously. "Oh? How's that?"

"It's fun! It's kinda like cosplaying,"

"Everyone's nice to you, right?" she asked. It was clear she was making sure there weren't any creepy guys taking advantage of Mayuri's sweetness while she was working.

"Of course!" she assured her, taking a bite of her sashimi. "I like working here."

"I'm glad to hear that, honey," she said honestly. As Okabe got into a discussion with Daru and Mayuri, Kurisu found herself looking at the busy streets of Akihabara through the window. It reminded her of home (home? She wasn't sure what was home yet.), of America, in the big city where her mother lived. Always crowded, everyone beelining to wherever they needed to go, no one really stopping to talk. It was fascinating to watch when you weren't caught up in the action. She rested her head on the cold glass of the window, stirring the last bit of her rice mindlessly with her chopsticks.

"Are you alright, Christina?" Okabe asked softly, snapping her out of her dreamy state.

"Sorry, my mind tends to wander," she said.

"It's fine," he said honestly, "Mine does too."

"I can imagine."

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

"Lots of things. America, I guess."

"You miss it?" he seemed a bit sad at the prospect for some reason.

She shook her head. "No. I don't know. I kind of don't know where I want to be right now," her cheeks reddened. "Sorry, I don't mean to get all sappy."

"It's alright," he said, and she could tell he meant it. She smiled, and he returned it. She could feel her stomach flutter and quickly looked away. There was no way she could feel like that about him! He was kind of crazy, and never called her by her first name...but there really was something about that messy dark hair and those hazel eyes. _Damn it!_ She thought.

"I think Faris was right, Kurisu and Okarin make a pretty good pair," Mayuri said.

"I was thinking that, too, but when has Okabe ever gotten a girl?" Daru asked.

Okabe frowned. "And when have you?"

"I've gotten tons of girls!"

"Girls who aren't in hentai games."

Daru was quiet, crossing his arms defiantly. Okabe laughed loudly. "I bet Okarin could get a girl," Mayuri said. "If he wanted to."

"Thank you, Mayuri, that's very kind," he replied. "Though I have no interest in matters that are so trivial at the moment."

Daru rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right."

* * *

They went back to the "lab" after their lunch. "Hey, do you mind if I use your computer to check my email?" Kurisu asked.

"Go ahead," Okabe replied. He was sitting on the couch next to Mayuri, who was sewing something.

She logged into her email, scrolling through various unimportant things until she reached something that stood out to her. It was an email from one of the heads of the science department at her university. She clicked it, scanning the words quickly. She let out a little gasp. She thought only she could hear it, but Okabe must have had good ears. "What is it, Christina?"

She was too excited to yell at him for calling her that. "Well, I just got an email from the university. They want me to give a conference about a scientific topic. One of the heads of the department read an article I wrote in an American magazine…" she was shamelessly grinning ear-to-ear.

"I told you that there was lots of talk about you," Okabe said. "When is this conference?"

"They're having a sort of scientific convention in two weeks. God, I have to get a speech together in two weeks? Should I accept this?"

"Yeah! I bet people really want to hear you talk!" Mayuri looked up from her sewing.

"I heard a lot of talk about that article," Okabe said, "I wasn't able to read it, but I have to agree with my hostage here. I'm sure people want to hear you speak for a reason."

She fought back a self-satisfied little smirk. "Was that a compliment, almost?"

"If that's how you'd like to see it," he shrugged. "I think you should accept. What are you going to talk about?"

"Hm," she leaned back in her chair and thought for a few minutes. Then an idea popped in her head, so clear and obvious she wondered how she hadn't thought of it instantly. "Time travel."

Okabe grinned devilishly. "Is that so?"

"Yes. I think I can write a speech about that."

"Are you sure you're not trying to win Okabe's heart?" Daru asked. "That sounds like something he'd talk about."

"I'm not doing this to impress anyone," she said.

"Well I'm impressed!" Mayuri said. "You're going to do great."

"I second that," Okabe said, avoiding eye contact.

Kurisu bit back another grin. "Now, _that_ was a compliment. Wasn't it?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny anything that requires such details."

She sighed, but couldn't help but smile anyway.

 **11:32 PM**

 _Have you started writing the speech yet?_

 **11:34**

 _I'm writing the introduction, but I think I'm a little too tired to write anything extensive tonight._

 **11:35**

 _Well, best of luck, Christina!_

 **11:37**

 _...Goodnight, Okabe._

 **A/N: Thanks again for reading! xoxox**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for all the nice reviews! Especially Sacri, your reviews are so in depth and they make my day! I appreciate everyone who reads my story. :) Have a fluffy chapter. Not beta'd, but proofread.**

Kurisu was revising her speech for what felt like the umpteenth time. She still had a few days to prepare, she didn't know what had her so nervous. She was an opinionated person and proud of it, but to speak professionally in front of people who would absorb what she said and pick it apart was scary. So many judging eyes. She sighed and rubbed her temples, tired of staring at computer screens.

Might as well stop by the lab, she thought. She didn't feel the need to ask Okabe if she could, she knew he didn't mind, even if he wouldn't admit that.

Mayuri was the one who answered the door. "Tuturu~! Kurisu is here!" She called out. Kurisu giggled a bit.

"Hi, Mayuri," she said, slipping her shoes off and stepping inside.

"Hello, Christina," Okabe said. He was sitting at the computer chair, typing something, it seemed. "What are you writing?" she asked.

"Um...Something for school," he said. Mayuri smiled a little bit to herself.

"What's he really writing?" she whispered to her.

Mayuri whispered back. "He's on some fan forums." Kurisu laughed out loud.

"What's so funny, Genius Girl?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," she said innocently. "You look like you're working pretty hard on that assignment is all."

"I am, thank you," he said, but he quickly realized she was being sarcastic and looked over at her with a scowl. "I am working on something for my studies, thank you very much."

She came up behind him. "Mmhm, it's very scholarly to have such heated discussions about an anime from 1998."

He sputtered. "Since when do you dictate my free time, Christina?"

"What's your screenname? Oh, of course, Hououin Kyouma. I'll keep a look out for you."

He looked at her with a glint in his eyes. "Ah, so you're on the fan forums as well? What section do you dwell in, Christina? Is it perhaps the fanfiction section?"

She crossed her arms. "Oh, shut up!"

"Hmm, the American Genius Girl writing fanfiction...Perhaps she's a quite well known author," he said, like he had made a great discovery. "Or perhaps she writes the stories that are filled with mindless smut!"

Her face burned. "You're such a pervert! And I'm sure you contribute such wonderful insight with your mile-long posts," she peered over his shoulder, "And I was right, that has to be at least six paragraphs long. Who's going to read that?"

"What's wrong with having something to say? At least I'm not ashamed of my membership to the forum, unlike someone."

The door handle clicked. "I can hear you two shouting from down the hall. What the hell is going on?" Daru asked.

"I think they're just teasing each other," Mayuri said.

The two scientists had ignored Daru. "So, Christina, who's your pairing of choice?"

"I'm a student, Okabe, I don't sit around and write fanfiction."

"Ah, don't be ashamed! How will I know if you're a good writer if I never get to read any of your works?" he looked so pleased with himself, and Kurisu knew she didn't need to indulge him, but she had a hot temper.

"You're the one who said I even wrote it, I never did," she said.

"What are you two fighting about?" Daru asked again. "Fanfiction? Kurisu writes fanfic?"

"No!" Kurisu turned to Daru. "Okabe just insists that I do."

"It's 'cause he likes to see your tsundere side," he chuckled.

Kurisu narrowed her eyes. "I am not a tsundere," she said under her breath.

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much," Okabe sing-songed.

"You two, stop ganging up on Kurisu," Mayuri said firmly. "Maybe she does write really good fanfiction!"

Kurisu rubbed her temples in frustration. "I don't, but...thanks, Mayuri."

"You're welcome," she chirped, continuing to sew. She took a seat next to her on the couch.

"What are you making?" she asked.

"A cosplay," she grinned. "Summer is when most of the cons are! Oh, you should come with me! I can make you a costume! You'd look cute in...a lacy dress, maybe? No…"

"Oh, you don't have to," Kurisu said. "I don't think I would look great in cosplay. But thank you for the offer."

"Trust me, Kurisu, you would look good in cosplay," Daru said.

She furrowed her brows. "Perv," she spat. "How do you deal with them?" she asked Mayuri.

"Okarin is just teasing you for fun, he's not trying to be mean. Same with Daru, don't worry," she said. "I know Okarin likes you a lot," her voice became a little quieter, as if she was sharing a big secret.

"How do you know that?"

"I know my Okarin," she replied. "Even if he doesn't tell me, I can tell how he feels about someone."

"You two are really close," Kurisu said, more to herself than Mayuri. "I guess he needs someone looking out for him, yeah?"

"We look out for each other," she said, squinting her eyes as she sewed a small detail onto the dress. "Ow!" she squeaked.

Okabe, who had been engrossed in a conversation with Daru, immediately looked to Mayuri when he heard her yelp of pain. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Mhm," she sucked on her finger. "Pricked my finger."

"Is it bleeding?"

"A little…"

"Fret not, my hostage, I will come to your aid," he said dramatically, making her smile. He searched the cupboards above the kitchen counters and eventually found a bandaid. He held her hand as he wrapped it around the small wound on her finger.

"Okarin, don't worry," she said.

"I am simply caring for my hostage. It's a mad scientist's job, after all," he said. "And there is one mad scientist with a kind heart... _Hououin Kyouma_!" he sounded exactly like a stereotypical mad scientist. Kurisu realized as he laughed boisterously, that he was simply trying to make Mayuri smile. Not that a small skin breakage on her finger was the largest pain the girl had ever experienced, but even such a little thing to her was a big thing to him. She found it very telling.

"How'd you even come up with that name?" she asked, simply out of curiosity. "Hououin Kyouma?"

"Come up with it? Why, Christina, you must be delusional. That is my name," he said.

She looked over to Mayuri for an answer. "I don't know," she shrugged.

"It will be an eternal mystery!" Okabe said, looking quite pleased with himself. Kurisu pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Maybe you should've been an actor," she murmured.

"I tried to get him to cosplay once, but he didn't seem to like it much," Mayuri said.

"It's not that I didn't like it," Okabe said, "I just didn't like that many people taking my picture. Who knows where those could end up…"

"Aw, don't be camera shy, Okarin," Mayuri smiled sweetly. "You're very handsome! Don't you think, Kurisu?"

She gulped, stalling a bit before answering. "I mean, it doesn't really matter, does it?" Mayuri looked like she was still waiting for an answer. "I mean, I don't think Okabe is bad looking…a lot of girls like the devilishly handsome look."

"Are you one of those girls, Kurisu?" Daru chimed in.

She crossed her arms, shrinking into the couch. "Shut up, will you?"

"It was a simple question," Daru replied. "If you thought he was ugly, I don't think you'd use the word 'handsome'."

She twisted up her face and didn't reply. When she dared to sneak a look at Okabe, he had a red tint on his cheeks. "I knew they made a good pair!" Mayuri clapped her hands together in delight.

Okabe cleared his throat. "I'm flattered, Christina. Thank you for the compliment."

She managed a half-smile. "You're welcome." She heard Daru murmur something involving the word "tsundere" again.

* * *

"Where's Kurisu today?" Ruka asked. Her and Mayuri were flipping through a cosplay magazine on the couch of the lab.

"She's giving her conference today," Okabe said.

"Are you going? You should!" Mayuri said.

"I could," he said, and he had thought about it. He wasn't sure if it would make her more nervous to have someone she knew in the audience, let alone someone like him.

The door was swept open and Kurisu nearly ran in. "I left my binder here," she said, breathless.

Okabe picked up a blue binder that was laying on the coffee table. "This one?" he asked. When he turned around to face her, he stopped in his tracks. Is it scientific that your heart beats faster when you see someone who's attractive? He thought. Kurisu was dressed in a cream colored blazer, light pink blouse, and a pencil skirt that matched the color of her blazer. Her hair fell on her shoulders in loose curls. She even had red lipstick on.

He stammered a bit. "Um, er, here's your binder," he handed it to her.

"You alright?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, you just surprised me," he said. "I wasn't expecting you to show up."

"Wow, Kurisu!" Mayuri said. "You're so beautiful!"

Ruka smiled as well. "Yeah, you look amazing!"

She looked away. "Oh, God, stop it."

"Really, though!" Mayuri said. "I bet the men at the science convention are gonna fall for you," she teased.

Kurisu brushed Mayuri's comment off with a laugh. "I'm not going to the convention to find a husband or anything. But thank you."

Okabe was trying not to stare at her, coughing briefly as he searched for words to say. "Best of luck to you," he said, painfully aware of his burning cheeks. "I'm sure you'll do well today."

"You'll do great!" Mayuri insisted. "I'm really not good with science stuff, but I know you're really smart!" Ruka nodded in support.

"Oh, honey, you're too sweet," Kurisu said. "I'll do my best. I really have to get going. I'm glad I found my binder," she turned to Okabe.

"Happy to help. Have a good time. Stop by afterwards if you can," he said. She began making her way to the door, and he found that words were tumbling out of his mouth faster than he could stop them. "Um, Kuri-er, Christina? You look nice." _Real charming,_ he mentally chastised himself.

She looked back with a rapidly reddening face, mumbling "thankyou" in rushed, nervous English before leaving.

When Okabe felt his heart return back to its normal rate, he noticed Ruka was laughing. "What's so funny, Rukako?"

"I-I'm sorry," she tried to stop, covering her mouth. "It's you and Kurisu. Both of you had red faces the entire time you were talking."

"She may have, but I didn't!" he said. "Hououin Kyouma is not so easily affected by a pretty girl."

"So you think she's pretty, Okarin! I knew it, I knew it!" Mayuri just about sang with excitement.

"Nothing gets past you," Okabe sighed. Mayuri wore a smug little smile for a while after.

* * *

It was after ten at night when Okabe, now alone in the apartment, heard someone knock on the door. He opened it to find Kurisu, looking just a bit tired but no less lovely. "Good evening," he let her in.

"Sorry if I woke you," she said.

"The night is very young, Christina," he said. "I wasn't expecting you to show up."

"To be honest…" she said, plopping onto the couch, "I didn't want to go back to the hotel."

His brows furrowed. "You don't? I thought it would be relatively comfortable."

"It is. It's very comfortable," she said. "But it's so quiet. Everyone tip toes through the halls...there's barely any eye contact."

"I have nothing against you being here at the lab," he said. "I'll get a key made for you."

She slumped into the couch. "Thank you. It's just nice to be around other people. Even if they're as weird as you."

He huffed. "It takes one to know one. Isn't that an English expression?"

"It is," she said. "Where'd you learn that?"

"Probably in some English book I had to read in high school," he shrugged. "How was the conference?"

She sat on her heels, hugging one of the throw pillows to her chest. "Hm...I'm not sure, to be honest. I think my speech went okay. There were lots of other good speakers, too. I felt kind of...out of place, though. Yeah, I wrote an article and it ended up in some American science magazine. I'm honored that they chose me to speak, but after hearing all the others who were so eloquent and charismatic, it was like….what am I doing here? My dad was right-" she stopped in her tracks, closing her eyes for a moment. "Sorry. I think I'm just tired. A little overemotional, I guess."

"What were you going to say about your dad?"

She gripped the pillow. "It's not important," her voice was hoarse.

Okabe found himself torn. He was so, so bad at consolation. He stumbled over words and ended up sounding cliche and disingenuous. That's why he loved science and math; there were rules, there was concrete facts. There wasn't any of that in situations like this. And as much as he liked Kurisu, he couldn't for the life of him open his mouth and comfort her. _Stupid_ , he thought, _You're stupid and rude and have no idea how to talk to anyone._ He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will away those thoughts. "Alright. Can I...get you something to drink? Water?"

"Do you have any tea?" she asked.

"I probably do," he searched through the cupboards and found an unopened box of teabags that Mayuri had gotten him a few months ago. It was in attempt to get him to drink something other than Dr. Pepper. "Yes, I have some herbal tea here."

"Anything is fine. Thank you. I just need something hot, you know?"

It wasn't his preferred method of self-care, but he understood. After he put the water on to boil, he sat cautiously next to her on the couch. "For the record…" he began. "I think you're amazingly intelligent. I'm glad I've gotten to know you, and I enjoy your company," he cleared his throat.

She smiled. It was a weary smile, but his words seemed to help. Thank God. "Look at you. I never knew you could be so...sweet."

"I'm far from sweet," he said. "Be not deceived, Christina. I'm simply speaking my mind."

"You should do it more often," she said. That whole prospect scared him. He saw speaking his mind as dangerous. He had too many feelings bottled up that he didn't care to let out.

The water was bubbling. He made her a cup of tea, pouring it into a cup with some anime girl on it. It was Daru's mug. "It's really hot. Sorry about the mug. It's Daru's."

She examined it, smirking a little. "I can tell."

"Do you need anything else?" She shook her head, holding the cup of tea close to her, taking comfort in the warmth of it. She went a bit quiet, sipping her tea and scrolling through her phone. The silence didn't hang in the air awkwardly, it settled around them. Okabe got off the couch and went back to the computer desk, flipping between homework and forums. The atmosphere in the room was different when he was alone, but it was a good different. A different he wanted to get used to.

It was nearly an hour when Okabe realized Kurisu had gone very quiet. He turned around, discovering Kurisu curled up on the couch, asleep. Her hair draped over her shoulders and partially over her face. He couldn't help but notice her skirt riding up above her knees. _Don't be a perv_ , he chastised himself. He had never worn one of the things, but tight pencil skirts had to be uncomfortable to sleep in.

He tapped her shoulder, trying not to startle her. Her eyes fluttered open, disoriented for a few moments but not angry. "Oh god, I fell asleep," she whispered.

"It's okay," he said, "You can sleep here tonight, in my bed." Her eyes widened and her face turned red. "I mean...I'll sleep here on the couch, and you can take the bed," he quickly added, to not give the wrong idea.

She looked too exhausted to argue. "Okay," she rubbed her eyes, and arching her back. That couch was known for being hell on everyone's back, but Okabe didn't mind it. He was tall and lanky, back problems were guaranteed.

She walked with him to his bedroom. "That can't be comfortable to sleep in," he gestured to her formal outfit.

"It's not," she admitted. He went searching through his closet, finding a plain, clean t-shirt.

"You can wear this," he said, and she shifted her weight. Had she not been so tired, he would've made some sort of "tsundere" comment, but avoided it.

"Um, okay," she took the shirt.

He left the room and closed the door behind him so she would feel comfortable. He set up a few blankets and pillows on the couch for himself. He heard the door creak open and Kurisu stepped out in his t-shirt, which looked more like a short dress on her. It was a sight that made his heart skip a few beats. "Thanks again, Okabe," she said.

"It's fine," he said. "Sleep well, Kurisu." She gave him a look he couldn't identify. "What is it?"

"You called me by my name. Goodnight, Okabe." she said, walking back into his bedroom and closing the door.

 **A/N: Thanks again for reading! xoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I know this isn't my longest chapter, but I didn't want too much happening at once. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Thank you for all the reviews. :)**

Kurisu woke up in a cocoon of blankets. She had slept better than expected. Okabe's bed seemed to be rarely used, though comfortable. His shirt had a faint scent of his cologne that she could smell on him if she was standing particularly close to him. God, she thought, I'm in Okabe's bed, wearing Okabe's shirt. She chuckled a bit to herself; in any other situation, it looked like a one-night-stand.

 _Nope_. She was not going to start thinking about one-night-stands, especially not with Okabe. She yawned, stretching her arms out and arching her back. After a few minutes of lingering, she managed to get herself out of bed, putting on some slippers and walking into the living room. She expected Okabe to still be asleep, but he was awake, searching through the fridge. "Morning," she yawned.

"Oh, good morning, Christina," he said. "Sleep well?"

"Yes, I did. Thanks for letting me sleep in your bed. I hope it wasn't too much of a problem."

"It's nothing," he insisted.

"Well, with such long legs, I expected you to be hanging off the couch," she nudged him. "Don't you have a coffee maker?"

"No, I don't. I don't drink coffee much."

She gasped. "No coffee? How do you wake up?"

"Not with coffee, I suppose."

"Well, I'm going out to get some. Do you want anything?"

"Why not. Two sugars, no cream."

She made a face. "Bitter!"

"It wakes you up, doesn't it?"

She sighed and walked back to his bedroom, slipping on her clothes from the day before. _God, this really does look like a one-night-stand_ , she thought, zipping up her jacket. She slung her purse over her shoulder and left the apartment, walking to a small cafe. She usually got coffee at the shop in her hotel, but she found little cafes quaint. It reminded her of America.

She ordered her coffee-an iced coffee with caramel, and Okabe's. Not many people were out on the streets yet; stores were just opening after long nights. It felt like a lazy summer morning-just the kind that Kurisu liked. She didn't get to be lazy very often (to be fair, she didn't want to be, she liked to be busy most of the time), but today felt like a good day to be just a little lazy.

She walked back into the apartment. "I'm back."

"I almost expected you to say, 'Honey, I'm home,' like in American TV shows," he said, now at the computer desk again. She twisted her face up.

"Shut up, Okabe, or I'll dump your coffee," she threatened, setting it down on his desk.

"Hmm, you could be my assistant!" he said suddenly. "The assistant to the mad scientist…"

"I got you coffee once, and now you're calling me your assistant?" she crossed her arms. "Don't push it."

"I didn't say all you would do is get my coffee! You could help with important experiments."

She rolled her eyes. "Like what?"

He stalled. "Uh…"

"Thought so."

"You can't push questions onto me like that, assistant! A mad scientist carefully plans out every single experiment!"

She made a funny face. "Um, I thought mad scientists were more spontaneous. You might need to reevaluate that, Hououin Kyouma."

He groaned. "My assistant is insufferable...but she was so kind to get me coffee, so I'll keep her around."

Kurisu turned her back to him, not wanting him to see the little smile on her face. He was pretty insufferable himself, but she didn't mind sticking around...most of the time.

She was scrolling through her phone for about ten minutes before she heard him scream.

It was a sound that shocked her. Usually guys were teased for how they screamed, but she wanted to jump out of her seat. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, I just," his voice cracked. She rushed to his side. The coffee cup was knocked over, and Okabe was holding his hand to his chest, eyes welling. Kurisu felt a rush of sympathy. "I spilled my coffee on my hand and it's scalding. And it's all over my keyboard."

She took his hand in hers. "Your hand is burned. Let's run it under some cold water." She lead him to the sink and put his hand under a stream of cold water. Okabe clenched his teeth. "I know it stings."

"Maybe you're a good assistant after all," he said with a pained smile.

"Don't be a smartass. There's lots of incidents like this during labs and stuff. It's no big deal," she said nonchalantly as she inspected the burn. "It looks like it's gonna blister. Where do you keep your bandages?"

"In the cupboard."

She rummaged around for awhile. "Hmm, stick bandages aren't good for blisters."

"Then cut the sticky part off," he said.

She grinned. "Good idea!" Despite his pain, Okabe laughed. _The sign of a true scientist; excited by little ideas,_ he mused.

She placed a bandage on the reddened skin, wrapping it up in some gauze. "It should be fine in a couple days. Just...don't do it again, okay?"

"I'm worried about my keyboard. I spilled a boiling beverage all over it!" he groaned.

She sighed. "I get it, but I'm more worried about you getting injured than your keyboard."

"Well, I-" he stopped in the middle of his sentence, "Wait. Christina…"

"That's not my name. What?"

"You're worried about me?"

She huffed and turned her back to him. "Well, it would be pretty shitty of me to completely ignore you when you spilled something burning onto yourself right? I'm simply being polite. Don't make such quick assumptions!"

He returned to his demolished keyboard, while Kurisu was frowning and blushing while staring at her phone.

* * *

Mayuri came over in the afternoon, and, sharp as a hawk, noticed the gauze on Okabe's hand. "Okarin! What happened?"

"I just spilled some coffee on my hand," he said, scratching his head nervously. Kurisu realized she hadn't seen him look so embarrassed before.

She cooed sadly. "Okarin…"

"I'll be okay, I've had worse."

"You are strong," she carefully patted his bandaged hand. "How was your speech?" she asked, turning to Kurisu.

"It went okay, I guess," she said. "People were very kind to me, being a first time speaker and all."

"I bet you were great! You looked so beautiful too!"

Kurisu brushed off the compliment. "I don't know anything about fashion, I just threw together something that looked good."

"You looked super pretty! Okarin's face was as red as a tomato," she sing-songed.

"Mayuri, don't tease," she said.

"I'm not teasing!" she replied, "It's true."

"You're acting like quite the matchmaker," Okabe commented after clearing his throat. "Are you trying to insinuate something?"

She smiled innocently. "I did say you two would make a good pair."

"We'd bite each other's heads off," Kurisu said.

"You mean well, but you don't quite understand, my dear hostage," he awkwardly patted her head. When Kurisu mustered the courage to look up at him, he was red-faced.

She pouted a little. "I think I understand."

Kurisu was tired and embarrassed and feeling over-socialized. "I should go home. I have an exam tomorrow."

"That's right, summer classes will be over soon," Okabe said, the fear of an unprepared student appearing in his eyes.

"You should study," she smirked, grabbing her bag.

"Don't tell me what to do, assistant," he grumbled.

"I'm not your assistant."

* * *

 ** _9:09 PM_**

 _I'm sorry about what Mayuri was saying earlier. She means well._

 ** _9:11 PM_**

 _Okabe, I don't mind. She's a sweetheart. If it was Daru saying that stuff, it would've been a different story._

 ** _9:12_**

 _That's true. Studying hard?_

 ** _9:14_**

 _As always. Aren't you?_

 _ **9:15**_

 _I mean….I'm trying._

 ** _9:17_**

 _Sure, you could call it that._

 ** _9:18_**

 _So cruel, assistant. Keep studying, have a good night._

 _ **9:19**_

 _Ha, I would tell you study hard but it's not like you are._

 _ **9:20**_

 _:( Mean._

 _ **9:22**_

 _Oh, Christina, after your test would you like to go out for lunch with me?_

 ** _9:29_**

 _What?!_

 **A/N: Thank you again for reading! xoxox**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: there's a lot of...emotions, in this chapter. Apologies if it's not good or too wordy. However, thank you for the kind reviews! :)**

He was serious. Okabe was actually...asking her out?

Kurisu had no boyfriends in high school. It wasn't because she was ugly or disliked; she had a tight knit group of friends. She was just known to focus more on her studies, and spent most of her time in the science rooms. She had fleeting thoughts about what it would be like, to be in love with someone, when she was younger. It seemed as she got older, those thoughts went away. It's not that she didn't _want_ a relationship...she just didn't have _time_ for one.

And of course she found Okabe annoying, but there was still _something_ about him. She had already admitted- to his face! - that she thought he was handsome, embarrassingly enough. He had been on her mind a lot lately, even though he never called her by her real name and went on mile-long rants about some mad scientist fantasy.

 _Whatever. Shot in the dark, right?_ She thought. They were going to lunch, not at a maid cafe or some greasy spoon, but a nice restaurant, and he had also offered a walk in the city. She said yes, ignoring the fact that you weren't supposed to ask someone out via text. Something told her he wasn't exactly experienced either.

She went to class buzzing with anxiety. When the test was handed out to her, the words blended together and she suddenly felt like she was losing the ability to read Japanese. She took a deep breath, rubbed her eyes, and told herself that she wasn't going to think about Okabe at all until she finished this test.

Once she regained her focus, she was able to finish the test with ease and hand it in. She texted Okabe that she was done with her test and he could come to her hotel in an hour or so. She didn't want to get too dressed up, but she didn't want to look too casual. _God, I'm really bad at this,_ she thought. She threw on a casual sundress that she usually wore to the pool. She brushed some mascara through her lashes and some red lip tint on her lips.

 _There,_ she thought, looking at herself in the mirror. _I look fine and casual. It's not like this is a huge deal anyway._ She rubbed her temples, begging her inner monologue to shut up. She distracted herself by turning on the TV and flipping through channels for a bit, settling on some music show with some quite talented singers. It was sound to have on in the background as she scrolled through her phone, doing her best not to check her clock over and over.

Okabe showed up about ten minutes earlier than promised. "Hi," she greeted him. "How's it going?"

"Not bad. How was your exam?"

"Good," she smiled. He looked really nice; but she couldn't bring herself to say it. He was wearing a button up shirt and nice jeans and everything. His hair was still haphazard and he still wasn't totally clean shaven, but that was okay. He still looked like Okabe; just a little less messy. "Did you pick out that outfit for yourself?"

"Well...Mayuri and Faris helped a little," he scratched the back of his head.

"They did well," she stood on her tiptoes to fix his collar. "There. It was a little crooked."

He smiled. "Well, then, Christina, shall we?" he offered her his arm and she stifled a giggle. He sounded like a man from a old Hollywood movie.

"That's not my name...but sure," she took his arm.

The restaurant he took her to wasn't four-star, but she wasn't expecting that. He had chosen small sushi bar, mostly empty except for a few employees on their lunch break. "Classy place," she said genuinely. They sat down at a table and decided on their order quickly - a sashimi palette and a variety of rolls. "Want some sake?" Okabe asked.

Kurisu made a face. "Jesus Christ, no."

"Have you ever had it?"

"Have _you?_ "

He shifted in his seat and didn't reply. She smiled knowingly. "Hm. Well, I'm not going to try sake today. It's only one in the afternoon, too."

"Can you even drink in the states?"

"No, but you can't drink in Japan. We're both eighteen and the drinking age here is twenty. I think I'll stick with water."

Okabe laughed a little too loudly. "You're so American. No one cares who drinks here."

"They will if you yell about it!" she swatted a hand at him. "Shut up!"

"Such manners on a first date," he mumbled.

She opened her mouth to say something, but she stopped, her lips quirking up into a smile. "So this _is_ a date."

"I mean-!" he sputttered. "I m-mean, I didn't say it was or it wasn't!"

"Yes, you did, you just said it was a first date."

"Perhaps it was a slip of the tongue!"

"Perhaps," she leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms.

"You love to best me…"

"I consider it my job. _Someone_ needs to put you in your place. Anyway, if this is a first date, act like it!"

The waiter soon brought their lunch, and Kurisu eagerly swiped up one of the pieces of tuna sashimi. "Hungry?" he asked.

"I didn't eat breakfast; I had a hard time focusing on my test because I was hungry," she said. It was a lie-he was the reason why her mind was wandering. She definitely was hungry, but it was more her anxiety than her psychical needs that she was hung up on.

"Hm, I can imagine," he said, twisting open a bottle of Dr. Pepper had he had ordered. "I'm glad there's air conditioning in here. I've been chugging Dr. Pepper to cool myself down back at the lab."

"The humidity is pretty bad. It exhausts me," she said. _This is what you talk about on dates, yeah? The weather?_

"We'll have a rainstorm soon enough and it'll clear the air," he said.

They ate, both clearly hungry, in somewhat uncomfortable silence. Now that it had been established as a date, they felt like they were doing it all wrong. Kurisu remembered reading articles in American magazines about how to 'wow' boys on dates back in high school. It was more out of curiosity than anything else. It talked about things like how to look into their eyes and bite your lip and brush your hands with his. It was stupid, really, but it was information she remembered, for whatever reason. Then again, she really didn't plan on ever going on a date with a boy like Okabe.

"Do you want any dessert?" he asked.

"I'm pretty full," she said honestly.

"What about coffee jelly?"

She couldn't pass that up. "You got me. I'll have some of that."

They ordered some coffee jelly, neither of them wanting to leave the air conditioned restaurant. When Kurisu bit into the rich tasting gelatin, she smiled. "Isn't it weird how little things like food can take you back to a certain moment?"

"It is certainly a strange phenomenon."

"I've studied the brain for years now and even I'm surprised at how it works sometimes," she said.

"It just means you're a good scientist. You're passionate and you find new things to be curious about! This is why I say you'd make a good _mad_ scientist, but alas, my efforts have been thwarted thus far."

She rolled her eyes at his attempts to sound Shakespearian. "Well, I'll take it as a compliment."

"Anyway...what brought on this memory of yours?"

"The coffee jelly. One time, my mom and I were visiting Japan," she said. "It was my first time going back since my parents had divorced. I was thirteen, I think...nervous about going back. My mom and I were at this cafe, and I was being quiet. I think I was just paranoid that I was going to run into my dad or something.

So, we're at this cafe, and I think my mom can tell somethings wrong. She told me she was going to get me a 'treat', and got me some coffee jelly. They don't really have it in the states. Maybe it was because it was so sweet, but when I ate that coffee jelly, I felt a little better. I perked up a bit and started talking and joking with my mom again. I felt less scared and more happy to be in Japan," she sighed. "So now every time I eat coffee jelly...I think of that."

"That's a nice story."

"Thanks. I don't think I've ever talked about it before."

"Where is your dad today?" he asked. It wasn't the first time that he had. Everytime, she had shot the question down. She still wasn't sure if she was ready to answer it.

"He's here in Japan. He just prefers not to associate with me."

"Why's that?" he was really persistent.

She searched for words that wouldn't be too harsh. "Um...honestly it's not exactly the happiest story."

"I figured."

"I guess the best way to put it is he sees me as his rival."

Okabe blinked, confused. "He's not proud of you?"

"He used to be," she said. "It's not important, I'm not going to be a downer today."

"Well, as far as I know, your father is a moron."

"He's not, but I won't argue with you," she grinned, his words lifting her mood, even if they were rude.

They finished their coffee jelly and paid for their meal, agreeing on a half-and-half split. That way there was no awkward stumbling over if Okabe, as the man, had to pay. As soon as they stepped back out into the July humidity, Okabe grimaced. "The idea of a walk was better when I didn't realize how humid it was."

"It's okay," she said, feeling the sun beating down on her back and knowing that she was probably going to get a sunburn. They walked quietly for awhile, hands accidentally brushing every now again; both of them shying away each time.

"So your father must be a scientist too."

 _Again with questions about my father!_ She thought. She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. She wasn't going to get emotional and she wasn't going to yell at him. Hopefully. "Uh, yeah. He used to be pretty highly regarded, but he got interested in...things that weren't as respected."

"Conspiracy theories?"

She chewed the inside of her cheek. "Time machines actually. He loved time machines." Okabe didn't reply. "Everyone thought he was mad, even myself…"

"Yet you gave a speech on such a topic."

"A highly critical speech," she said. "You have to understand my caution, Okabe!" her voice was rising already. "Everyone should be cautious about things that haven't been proven...the ones who are so sure about such things are seen as crazy."

Okabe cleared his throat. "But the mark of a good scientist, Christina, is that they aren't afraid of being seen that way."

"Not in my experience," she said, and he slumped a little bit. "I don't have problems with my father because he has more extreme beliefs. But I'm a neuroscientist….you know?"

Still slouched, he nodded. She could see by the quick blinking of his eyes and his worried expression that he was looking for something. Words, maybe? Or...Hououin Kyouma. He was looking for the persona that was easy to put on usually, but sometimes Hououin Kyouma left Okabe alone to be just Okabe. "Did I say something wrong?" she asked, hoarsely.

"No, I'm just...thinking."

"You've got me worried."

He placed his hand on her forehead. She squeaked. "You're all over the place. You m-must be sick, Christina! The heat is getting to you."

There he was. Hououin Kyouma. "I'm not sick. I'm not Christina either." _God. What happened to happy stories about coffee jelly?_ She thought.

"Should I not ask about your dad anymore?" he asked.

"I've just never talked about it before."

Strands of jet black hair stuck to Okabe's forehead. "Understandable."

She rubbed her temples. This day had been more of a rollercoaster than she expected. "Sorry."

"For what? I'd rather you be yourself than feel as if you have to put on airs. I may be a mad scientist, but I am far from judgmental." He looked more comfortable now that he had found the persona again.

"You should take your advice."

"Huh?"

She shook her head. _If only he listened to himself talk every now and then…._ "Nothing, nevermind. Listen, I'm really hot," she said. He snorted, and she looked at him funny. "What is it? All I said was I was... _oh._ You must be twelve years old."

"It's not good to be so conceited, Christina."

"Maybe you agree with what I said, hm?"

He twisted his face up, and she did her best impression of an evil laugh. "Muhahaha! I've bested the mad scientist!" When he made no effort to reply, she stood on her tiptoes and whispered " _tsundere",_ much to his disgust. He still said nothing, so she pressed a kiss to his cheek and walked away, as natural as could be. Inside she was screaming, but on the outside she was as cool as could be.

Okabe caught up to her and walked her to her hotel, but he seemed a little wrapped up in his thoughts. She supposed she couldn't blame him. However, there was a smile on his face, so something told her she had done the right thing.

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the banter. Sorry for this mess of a chapter, haha. Thank you for reading! xoxo**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter! I've been really busy, with school and life and stuff. I wanted to get one more chapter in, however, before I leave the country for a week. :) Sorry this chapter is a little short. But it's cute, at least I think so, haha. Thank you all for you patience, really!**

"How was your day yesterday, Okarin?" Mayuri asked. "I didn't see you at all."

"Yes, you had work, didn't you? It was fine."

She nodded. "Mhm! It was a good work day. I got lots of tips!"

"Good work, my dove," he said, "I spent the day with Christina yesterday."

She gasped. "Like a date?" he didn't reply, just grumbled. "Okariiin, c'mon…" he tightened his lips. "So mean." she pouted.

Daru walked in with a few plastic bags. "I got groceries," he said.

"Ah! Thank you," Okabe said. "Our Dr. Pepper supplies were going low."

"You should enter a contest to win a lifetime supply of Dr. Pepper…" Daru said. "Why does Mayushii look so grumpy?"

"Okarin won't tell me about his date."

"Date? No way Okabe got a date," Daru said.

He scoffed. "What's so implausible about it?"

"Well, most girls go running for the hills when you start your Hououin Kyouma thing…"

"I beg to differ," Okabe replied, going to the fridge and grabbing a Dr. Pepper. "And it's not like girls fall swooning at your feet when you start talking about all the _eroge_ games you play."

Mayuri gasped like she had made a divine revelation. "Okarin, Okarin! Did you go out with Kurisu?" He was silent. "I said you two would make a good pair!"

"I bet it was Kurisu," Daru said in agreement. "But they probably just fought the whole time."

She frowned. "Mayushii wants everyone to get along."

"They do get along. They just fight and then they're all over each other." That caused Okabe's face to heat up, but he remained stubbornly silent.

The two of them seemed to give up and quietly returned to their own activities, Daru tapping away as usual and Mayuri nibbling on her lunch. The door clicked open after a few minutes, and a head of red hair peeked in. "Oh good, everyone's home. Good afternoon!" Kurisu exclaimed in English. She had a habit of that, slipping English phrases in conversation, like 'good morning!', or 'good job!'. Okabe would never admit it, but he found it sort of cute.

"Afternoon, assistant," he said coolly.

"Kurisu!" Mayuri chirped. "Do you like Okarin?" Okabe fought the urge to groan. _A sweet girl, but tactful...not so much,_ he thought.

"Well, 'like' is a stretch sometimes, but he's not so bad most of the time," she said nonchalantly, then looked at Mayuri with narrowed eyes. "Wait...why?"

"No reason," she smiled innocently.

She gave her a suspicious look for a few seconds. "Hmph. Well, don't make too many assumptions."

"I feel like you're getting too defensive," Daru commented offhandedly.

"I feel like you're looking into things too much," she spat back.

Mayuri made a little whining noise. "I didn't mean for anyone to fight…"

Kurisu shook her head, ignoring Daru for the moment. "I'm sorry, honey, I'm not trying to fight with Daru. He's just...making assumptions, as usual."

Okabe started to say something, but instead bit his tongue and frowned. Kurisu seemed so irritated...what if, after going back to her hotel and thinking on it, she realized she hated the date? _She probably regrets it,_ Okabe thought, _I have no idea what I was thinking, bugging her like that._

"Okarin? You look really pale…" Mayuri said.

"Oh, I do? Don't worry about me," he brushed it aside like he always did. "I'm simply thinking."

"About what?"

"I would tell you, but then I would have to silence you permanently, hostage!" he said. "The inner mechanisms of my mind are an enigma."

"I think I've heard that in some bad sci-fi film before…" Kurisu said, holding back a laugh.

"Like that show we used to watch!" Mayuri smiled, "When we were little, remember?" Okabe nodded.

"Okabe when he was young...hm...what was that like, Mayuri?" Kurisu gave him a teasing look.

"He talked a _lot!_ He was really smart, good at math...he liked robot movies, but sometimes he watched romance anime with me," she giggled at that, "Pretty much like Okabe now, but...little!"

She turned to Okabe. "Accurate?"

"I suppose…"

"He did get sick once," Mayuri began, but he quickly cleared his throat. "Oh…" she said and didn't continue, despite Kurisu's curious look.

"Assisant," he said suddenly, standing up. "I'm craving a nice iced coffee. Would you like to join me?"

"That does sound nice."

"Oh! Can you bring me some bubble tea, please?"

"I'll have a coke, please," Daru chimed in.

Okabe sighed. "Of course. Alright then, we'll be back."

"Have fun~! Kiss a lot!" Mayuri giggled. Daru laughed, but Okabe and Kurisu turned both turned an identical shade of red.

* * *

After picking up Mayuri's bubble tea and Daru's soda, all that was left was their coffee. They had been a little awkward around each other when their excursion started, but they settled into conversation easier than they expected.

"I suppose Mayuri is trying to play matchmaker again," Okabe shook his head.

"Ah, yes, and mad scientists have no time for such trivial things such as that," Kurisu joked in return, earning her a sly look from him. "You don't need to keep apologizing for her. She's sweeter than candy."

"I like that phrase, I'll tell her you said that," he said.

They approached the coffee shop. "What made you crave coffee?" she asked. "You don't usually like it."

"I mostly wanted to get out of the lab," he admitted. They ordered their iced coffee once they got to the front of the line. When Kurisu got her coffee and took the first sip, she sighed happily.

"The first sip of coffee is always the best," she said, like she was teaching him a very important lesson. "Why did you want to get out of the lab all of a sudden?"

He was hoping she wouldn't bring that up, but alas, she did, and she was as stubborn as he was. "Erm...no reason, really. Just an urge," he lied.

"Was it something someone said?" Kurisu asked as Okabe was handed his coffee and they began walking back to the lab.

"Of course not," he said, which was another lie.

"Mayuri mentioned you being sick…"

A prickly, cold feeling moved its way up his stomach. He hated talking about this. "I'm not sick anymore, if you're wondering."

"It's not that, you just seemed-I dunno, I've never seen you so...nervous."

"I'm not nervous," he said, "I just don't like talking about it. It was a long time ago anyway."

"Like how long ago?"

 _A true scientist,_ Okabe thought, not for the first time about her. _She never stops questioning._ "I was ten," he admitted.

"What exactly happened?"

 _Might as well tell her._ "I got a fever one day, and my parents said as long as I got rest it would go away soon. Days went by and it just...didn't get better. I was sick for ages. I honestly don't remember most of it. I just remember Mayuri, worrying nonstop. She was only eight, and I'm sure she lost sleep worrying."

Kurisu frowned deeply. "God...only ten years old...sounds like a pretty intense fever."

He was more taken aback by her sympathetic tone than anything else. "Mayuri says I almost died but...like I said, it's not really fresh in my memory. I spent most of that time sleeping and feeling miserable. Mayuri told me she prayed to the sky for me to get better."

Kurisu smiled, soft and sad. "I see why you don't really like to talk about it."

"Yeah, I guess it's kind of touchy," he shrugged. He was tempted to bust out a Hououin Kyouma line and a maniacal laugh, but for once, talking like a 'normal person' was easier. It was hard to act like a mad scientist when he was talking about the time he was closest to death.

"I get it," she said as they climbed the steps to the lab. "You were young. I can't help but feel bad." A hint of blush appeared on her cheeks after such vulnerable words.

"You know, it's funny," Okabe said, staring off into the distance, "I've never told anyone that story before. Not even Daru."

"Wh-why?"

"Didn't see a need to, I suppose," he left it at that and walked into the lab with everyone's drinks.

Kurisu waited a moment before going in. She couldn't help but think that if he had lingered for one moment longer, she would've kissed him.

 **A/N: Thanks again for reading! xoxox**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry this took so long to update! I was out of the country, then I had school stuff to deal with. Thank you for the nice reviews, they mean the world to me! This chapter is a little short but I hope it's worth it.**

"You're so lucky to have long hair, Kurisu. Mayushii's hair is too thick to keep long!" Mayuri was braiding Kurisu's hair. She had recently picked up various hair accessories for cosplay, and she wanted to see what Kurisu would look like in them. Kurisu thought that she might as well, seeing as she had turned down the offer to wear the cosplay outfits Mayuri had made.

Okabe was on the floor as well, flicking through TV channels. He glanced over to the two girls, smirking at Kurisu, who obviously did not like to be fussed over. "Kurisu, when do you go back to the US?" Mayuri asked.

"In September," she said.

"Ohh, in a month," she said a little sadly. "I hope you don't forget us…"

"I could never forget you," she assured Mayuri.

"What about Okarin?"

"It would be impossible to forget Okabe," she laughed a little. "Not sure if that's a good or bad thing."

"Will you come back to Japan?" Mayuri asked. "Your dad is here, right?"

She fidgeted uncomfortably. "Yes, he is. We don't talk that often though."

"Why?" Mayuri tilted her head.

"Don't pry, Mayuri," Okabe scolded gently.

"Oh. Okay." she sagged a little, a frown on her face.

"Don't worry about it, sweetie," Kurisu ruffled her hair. "I'm just fine."

Mayuri giggled, her nose crinkling. "I should probably get to work! Faris will get mad if I'm late!"

Not thirty minutes after Mayuri left, the door creaked open and a head peeked in shyly. "Um, hello."

"Rukako, come in," Okabe said. She stepped in. "How are you? Doing well?"

"Uhm, I'm fine," she said. "Is Mayuri here? I wanted to stop by and say hello…"

"She's not, she went to work," Okabe said.

"Oh, that's okay, then," she said, then glanced over to Kurisu. "Oh, hi! I haven't seen you in awhile!"

"I know! Nice to see you," she smiled. "How are you doing?"

Ruka sat nervously on the couch. "I'm good. I've been kind of busy. Most tourists come to the shrine in the summer…"

"That makes sense. I feel like I would get hot in all those robes!"

"I do," she giggled. "But, I'm used to it."

"You look so cute in your shrine maiden clothes, though!"

Okabe watched them talk and laugh with a gentle smile on his face. Kurisu was so personable and kind to Ruka and Mayuri. She was a bit more challenging to him, but he (begrudgingly) admitted that he did the same thing to her.

"I think you're very pretty," Ruka said.

"Thank you very much!" Kurisu said in English, blushing.

"You speak English? Oh, that's right you came from America!" she replied in English as well. It was thickly accented English, but good English.

She nodded. "Yes, I've spoken it since I was born. How do you know English?"

"I had to learn it for my shrine work."

"You speak it very well!"

Okabe couldn't understand much of what they were saying-English was his hardest class in school. He barely spoke any besides the basic phrases. They were talking so fast, and he could barely understand any of the words. Still, he admired the way Kurisu's eyes lit up, her lips turning up into an endearing quirk of a smile. And Ruka even seemed to come out of her shell. Kurisu was good at coaxing people like that.

Noticing he was staring at them in confusion, Kurisu gave Okabe a little wink. It was a teasing gesture, but he couldn't help but smile. Ruka's phone beeped. "Oh, I should get home," she said, going back to Japanese. "It's a busy day and all!"

"Thank you for stopping by Rukako," Okabe said. "I'm always happy to be visited by such a faithful lab member."

She giggled, used to his antics. "Thank you for having me," she bowed, ever the polite one still, and left.

"She's really a sweetheart, just like Mayuri," Kurisu smiled into the distance. "Shy, but sweet."

"I think shyness is in her nature. Especially around me," Okabe sighed wearily, remembering the way he had spoken to her in the past regarding her gender. It was embarrassing; he felt so intelligent and superior in the moment, but when the girl started to cry his ego came crashing down around him.

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't always been...informed about issues she's had in her personal life. I took it upon myself to make comments about them, comments that were incredibly rude. I made her cry and Mayuri threw all her upa toys at me. I apologized, and I understand better now...but it's not a pleasant memory."

And just like that, he realized she had coaxed him again, made him open up when he could've so easily brought Hououin out and threw some snarky comment her way. The more times this happened, the stronger the desire to kiss her grew.

"Well, you seem to be sincere...for once," she laughed dryly. "She doesn't seem the type to hold grudges. Don't beat yourself up, okay?" she held his hand, hesitantly at first, but they found that it felt more natural than awkward. She had a certain look in her eyes that he couldn't place.

"Something on your mind, Christina?"

"Can you...close your eyes for me?"

"Huh?"

"Ju-just….close your eyes. I'm not gonna kick you in the balls or something, okay?"

"That only makes it sound more threatening, but okay," Okabe reluctantly closed his eyes. It was silent for a moment-so silent, that he could hear Kurisu shift her weight. He felt a heat close to his face and then-

Instead of his eyes flying open and him pulling away, gasping, Okabe simply melted into the kiss. Kurisu interlocked her fingers with his and squeezed his hand. After a few moments, Kurisu pulled away. "I don't think I've ever seen you so shocked," she grinned. "If I knew this was how I'd get you to shut up I should've done it a long time ago."

"I, um, my mouth went dry," Okabe swallowed. The kiss was only a few seconds, but he could've sworn it was longer...there was science behind that, wasn't there? His brain was so muddled he couldn't remember.

"Well, at least I didn't kick you in the balls."

"You just kissed me, I don't really want you to think about you doing that," he winced.

"Sorry, I'm not one for romance usually."

"Neither am I," he admitted, then cleared his throat, "That was, um...my first kiss."

She looked down at their shoes. "Mine too," she said.

"I'd like to have my second."

She looked up, rolling her eyes. "Smooth," her tone was sarcastic, and yet, she obliged, kissing him again, this time more passionately. Her hands lazily petted his messy hair, and they were so lost in each other they didn't hear the click of the door.

"Damn!" Daru's voice rung out, and they jumped nearly a foot apart away from each other. "It's about time. There's been so much sexual tension in this lab you could feel it in the air."

"We're never gonna hear the end of this," Kurisu groaned, but neither her nor Okabe regretted it one bit.

 **A/N: So next chapter will probably be the last. This was just a short little fluffy fanfic I wanted to write to break away from all the suffering these characters go through in canon. I'm really glad people have enjoyed it. Hopefully it won't take as long to update, and as always thank you for reading.**

 **xoxo Lulamae**


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